Magnified
by suspensegirl
Summary: Post 4x06 - She just wasn't fit to be with Stefan anymore, and it was time Damon knew it. / Elena tells Damon why she & Stefan broke up. No spoilers. DE o/s


A/N: My first DE fic. Be nice. No spoilers. Not even with the 4x07 promo implied.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

She found him sitting at his usual spot by her window and remembered how annoyed she'd been by it in the past, how quickly she'd made him leave. It seemed forever ago. Now, no matter how much she fought it, she couldn't help but feel that spark of his joy seeing him there, knowing he was so close and that he wanted to be there, he wanted to be near her.

She couldn't explain this side of her that seemed to have evolved out of nowhere and without warning. She'd been able to suppress her feelings for Damon when she'd chosen Stefan just before she'd turned, because no matter how much of a girlish crush she felt for his older brother, Stefan was the love of her life and she couldn't let that go to waste. She _wouldn't_.

But, even as her love for Stefan magnified when she turned, so did her feeling for Damon. She wanted to feel the passion she'd found in his arms on that balcony when they'd gone to find Jeremy. And she felt his love for her in everything he did, and finally let herself admit that she was glad he'd saved her from the suicide she'd almost committed. She was glad he'd saved her. And she knew that, as her transformation continued, it wouldn't matter if there was someone else that needed saving. The fact that he'd saved _her_ was enough.

No matter what Katherine's hallucination had told her, she knew she wouldn't end up exactly like that cold-hearted smart-mouthed bitch. But there had been some truth in what she'd said, even if it had all been a curse, all in her subconscious maybe.

She just wasn't fit to be with Stefan anymore, and it was time Damon knew it.

"Hey," she said, her voice coloring confusion as it always did.

"Hey," he returned. "Stefan said you wanted to see me."

It had been almost a week since her break up with Stefan, but she didn't think her hesitation in confronting his brother would have driven him to nudge her in what he felt to be the right direction. She'd hurt him enough, even if it had been unintentional. She hadn't meant to fall for Damon. She hadn't meant to trust him more, feel more safe with him or only confide in him all her deepest fears and anxieties.

"Really?" she asked doubtfully, walking towards him.

He stood to his feet. "Well, he said I _should_ see you. I just assumed," he replied, shrugging his shoulders a bit with a brief smirk slipping onto his face.

She nodded in recognition, believing that somewhat more.

"He said you'd been feeling guilty," he continued, his brows furrowing a little as he walked towards her a few steps.

"About the break up?" she asked. He waited. "It was mutual. It just wasn't…working."

He studied her, even if he had a good idea what had caused the rift.

"I suppose you want to know why," she said, giving a half-laugh to her response as her eyes looked away.

"Only if you want to tell me."

She looked back at him.

"I mean, I assume you would…since Stefan told me I should see you, and…well…do you want to see me?"

Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes fixed on his. She took a breath and decided to take the plunge.

"Before the accident…the one that made me turn into a vampire," she sighed. "when we went to get Jeremy and we were at the hotel and…" she trailed off.

He closed more distance between them and took one of her hands in his and didn't look away. She caressed his hand and held on tight. He swallowed, searching her eyes for an explanation as to why his heart was pounding so fast.

"I told you I didn't know what I felt…and then, well, that it wasn't enough because I loved Stefan." She paused, trying to find the right words. She felt so hot, like he was consuming her, even if all he was doing was giving her his undivided attention. "Things have…changed, Damon. Those feelings I couldn't explain and maybe didn't even want…I've come to accept them now, and I-"

"Elena," he cut her off. She was rambling. "What are you trying to say?"

She swallowed. "I'm saying I have feelings for you, Damon. And that's why Stefan and I broke up. Because they've been magnified now that I'm a vampire."

His eyes widened.

"I…trust you more than him. I go to you first, seek your advice, feel safer when you comfort me than when he tries to. I…my feelings for you are stronger than they are for him."

He looked down at their hands, tenderly smoothing over each other.

"And if we find a cure?" he asked, looking up at her again.

"That would be great. That…would make things less complicated."

He nodded, knew that was what she wanted and that if it was up to her, she would become human again and love Stefan and only him.

"But what are the chances of that happening?"

He looked up at her, searching her eyes again. Finally, his eyes twitched in a slowly forming smile.

"So…w-what are you saying?"

She swallowed, took another breath, scared of her answer and what it would all mean. She'd felt so much pressure from everyone in the last week to try and make things work, to suppress her feelings for Damon somehow or just convince herself that he wouldn't be able to take care of her, to really be good for her the way Stefan had been.

But she couldn't. She had too much proof staring at her, refusing to go away, of the contrary.

"I'm saying that I…I want you-"

He cut her off again, but this time with a smoldering kiss, capturing her lips in the demanding, passionate way he'd done before, always forever taking her breath away. When he finally pulled away, she had to fight to catch her breath, but the way he looked at her told her she'd made the right choice.

"I've been waiting a really long time to hear you say that," he said on a half-laugh, but his voice was almost a whisper that she felt the chills ripple through her, the heat and then cool that went from her head to her toes. She knew vampires were supposed to be unaffected by temperature, but somehow she just felt the shift.

"Damon…" she was at a loss for words. Trying to find them in this moment seemed impossible.

"Hmm? What is it?" he asked, pulling back a little to tuck some of her silky brown hair behind her ear.

"I just want you," she confided.

His stomach dropped.

"I don't know if it's the vampire in me, but…I only want you. I don't know if you-"

He kissed her again, sufficiently cutting her off once more.

"You've got to be kidding me, Elena. Of course I still love you."

She couldn't fight it anymore. She started smiling. The tightness in her chest exploded into an overwhelming feeling of joy and she flung her arms around him and sighed in relief.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" he laughed, holding her tight.

She shook her head when she pulled back. "No, I just…" she cupped his smiling face in her hands. "I…" she sighed happily and then her eyes dripped down to his lips and she bit down on her bottom lip. Then she lifted her eyes to his gaze again and saw how smoldering they were, knew they were mirroring her own reckless desire.

She kissed him. It was pure, passionate, reckless abandon and she loved it. She loved how he made her feel.

For this moment she didn't worry about what anyone else would think, because she finally let herself admit and embrace the undeniable fact that deep down she'd wanted this from the moment she remembered what he'd compelled her to forget.

She'd wanted _him_. Not Stefan. _Him_.

…

A/N: Okay, don't kill me if this is OOC. I told myself I wouldn't post my first DE fic as something that would be SUCH a monumental moment in their soon-to-be future, but I was convinced otherwise by…an unmentionable individual. *cough* Mary *cough* I _will_ take this down and try to do a re-write if I get enough reviews telling me this is OOC though, b/c I HATE when that happens. I strive to be in character above all else.

Anyways, shoot me a review. I hope it was at least somewhat satisfactory.


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